BCJ_SUMMER17 Digital Edition

THE FISHERMEN
of the Harlem Meer
BY TAIMUR AHMAD
PHOTOS BY SCOTT JOHNSON
MEL WHIPS HIS ROD BACK WITH A FLOURISH AS I HURRY TO GET OUT OF THE WAY. TURNING TOWARD ME, HE
GRINS. “I DON’T DO NO WILD CASTS.” THE LURE SOARS ACROSS THE LAKE AND LANDS WITH A SPLASH. AS
THE RIPPLES SUBSIDE, MEL BEGINS TO JIG AND HOP THE IMITATION MINNOW BACK TO SHORE. THE EVENING
LIGHT REFLECTING OFF THE STEEL AND GLASS OF THE APARTMENT TOWERS SURROUNDING THE LAKE LIGHTS
UP THE WATER, MAKING THE FISHING LINE GLOW. CHILDREN SHRIEK AND LAUGH IN A PLAYGROUND NEARBY.
A MAN WITH A BOOM BOX ATTACHED TO HIS BICYCLE BLASTS HIPHOP AS HE PEDALS PAST. A SIREN WAILS
OFF FROM NORTH OF 110 TH ST. BUT MEL IS ENTRANCED, INSULATED FROM THE NOISE OF NEW YORK CITY BY
THE DEEP STANDS OF TREES AND THE GREEN LAWNS THAT FORM A BOWL AROUND THE LAKE KNOWN AS THE
HARLEM MEER.
Located in the northeastern corner of Central Park, the Meer
is 11 acres of green, shallow water regularly stocked with bass,
sunfish, crappie and several other species of gamefish that attract
anglers from all over the city. Egrets, turtles and raccoons all make
their homes along the lakefront, and the Meer is one of few places
in the city where you can count on seeing a great blue heron
stalking through the shallows. A path surrounding the water
makes for an easy stroll. Though ringed by apartment towers and
busy streets, the Meer retains the feel of a place apart, separated
from the intensity of the surrounding city.
Mel is a Meer regular and one of the core members of a community-based
organization called The Fishermen that operates
from its banks. He and his fellow members teach local kids how
to fish – providing gear, technical instruction and lessons in the
Meer’s ecology. Nat, a Vietnam veteran, 9/11 first responder and
founder of the group, describes the organization as a grassroots
program. “We get no funding. We get nothing. Being impoverished
people from broken homes and whatnot, what we do is we
try to establish this mentorship program.”
The program is built around Nat’s “general orders,” a code of
values and conduct printed out and distributed to the participants.
The goal is to “keep the kids in a positive state of mind”
by making sure they are engaged in a healthy activity like fishing
in the park instead of idling in their apartments or getting into
trouble on the street – a service the community appreciates. Mel
takes pride in the fact that families like their kids to spend time
in the park. As he put it, “They don’t want their kids getting into
problems. We’d rather have them pick up a rod and a reel than a
gun and a clip.”
The Fishermen are made up of middle-aged to older African
American men who mostly live in nearby public housing. They
are at the Meer nearly every day, all day, weather and season permitting.
Aside from participation in the mentorship program,
The Fishermen often are unemployed. Some have previously been
incarcerated and others have struggled with homelessness.
As a native New Yorker with a love for the outdoors, I grew up
fishing the Meer and hanging out with the characters who would
congregate there. But it wasn’t until I returned to the park to conduct
ethnographic research as a sociology student in college that
I began to really dive into the stories of guys like Nat and Mel.
44 | BACKCOUNTRY JOURNAL SUMMER 2017
SUMMER 2017 BACKCOUNTRY JOURNAL | 45